


Running Together

by ERL33



Category: Aven - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/F, F/M, Family, Fury is a jackass, Gen, Handler!Phil, Kid!Avengers, Kids, M/M, Multi, Orphans, Polyamory, Team Dynamics, daddy!Phil, runaways - Freeform, synergy - Freeform, troubled childhoods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 18:00:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1827247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERL33/pseuds/ERL33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teenage AU where the Avengers are a bunchy of mouthy runaway/orphaned kids who band together and commit petty theft (later more grand-scale theft like banks etc.) in order to survive on the streets. They get so good at this that SHEILD snatches them up and offers to train them as a response team instead. Since the alternative is being split up and doomed to the foster care system, they agree. By this point, they have become terribly co-dependent, but this just makes them a better team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Outline

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so here's the sitch. I read this absolutely amazing story on avengerskink livejournal and fell 100% in love with it. I mean, head over heels in love. So you can only imagine my heartbreak when I realized that, despite my weekly check for updates, it had been two years since the author had even signed on. I have finally admitted defeat. However, I cannot bear to let this amazing fic, unfinished though it may be, wallow in the depths of the internet. So I am posting it here.  
> Disclaimer: I DID NOT WRITE ANY OF THIS FIC. I DO NOT OWN IT. I DO NOT CLAIM ANY RIGHTS TO IT. I am simply posting this to awe and inspire others.  
> Also, here is the link to the original work on fakeasian56 's livejournal: http://fakeasain56.dreamwidth.org/1714.html

Steve: Amnesiac orphan with a mysterious past. Hates having to depend on thievery but his loyalty to the others overcomes his morals.

Tony: Runaway rich boy with a refined hatred of authority figures.

Bruce: Runaway kid whose parents couldn't deal with his mental health issues. He and Tony are pretty close.

Natasha: Never speaks about her past, but suspected to be involved with an exploitative crime gang since she was barely walking.

Clint: Orphan, used to be in the circus until he ran away with Natasha.

Thor and Loki: Sons of a foreign aristocrat. Loki suffers from some kind of mood disorder, but doesn't have any of Bruce's coping mechanisms (due mostly to his family being entirely ignorant of   
them). He ran away after finding out he was adopted, Thor ran after him, and decided to stick by his little brother until he was ready to return home.


	2. The Low Down

Nick Fury sat comfortably in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin as he stared down at the live feed cam.  
  
Seven teens (more like  _kids_ ) slept in the room. The first male, a young looking teen with bright blond hair, and a sweet baby face that looked guileless was obviously the leader. He slept, propped up and leaning on the wall, where he could see everyone. According to intelligence, his name was Steve, and his past unknown even to the boy.  
  
Off to his right, decked out like a log, and snoring without a care in the world was yet another male. A slowly cultivated goatee offset his dark hair. His clothes were twice expensive as the others, and a computer that looked like it had been slapped together from spare parts was tucked beneath one arm. Everyone knew him- the famous Tony Stark, rich runaway kid. He had assembled the computer while on the run, and now had the worlds most advanced AI stored on it. Nobody knew exactly how he had managed it, but Fury was getting a hint from the boy curled up next to Tony.   
  
Curled up, trying to vanish and disappear was yet another teen. His curly dark hair peeked out around Tony’s arm, like Tony would protect him. He breathed silently, but his body was tense, ready to run at the slightest noise. Bruce Banner- a kid with mental issues, runaway. He’d been on the run for at least five years before he met Tony, and managed to run away with him, and from what he could tell, the two got along quite well.   
  
Up on the single bed, a young man, bigger then the rest and probably a little older then the rest, slept soundly. His side was covered in a white bandage, the very beginnings of blood beginning to seep through. His blond hair was pulled back by pale white hands, as an equally pale young man wrapped around the man, his dark hair mixing with blond. Thor and Loki- sons of a foreign diplomat. Loki ran away first, and Thor had followed.  
  
Guarding the doorway were the last two- a young man and a young woman. The male was balanced on the table, a circus bow in his lap. The string was unstrung, to keep it from snapping, but agents had found out the hard way that Clint Barton could restring his bow and have an arrow knocked and shot under a second.   
  
The woman slept with her back to the door- if someone wanted through, they would have to wake her first. And just because her back was to the door didn’t mean that she was unarmed- there was a pistol in her hands, pointed at the door, and safety off.   
  
The two of them had met before they had met the other five, Clint as a runaway from the circus, and Natasha as some sort of mafia or crime organization daughter.  
  
A ragtag bunch of misfits that should’ve never come together- but somehow they  _did_.  
  
He sorted through the intelligence left on his desk, trying to piece it together.


	3. Backstory

# Bruce

Bruce Banner curled up miserably in his bedroom, listening to his parents rage below. “This is all your fault!”  
  
“My fault?! You’re the one who constantly hits him! No, it was all your fault in the first place! You were the one who knocked me up!”  
  
“I never should’ve married you is what. To have such a hellspawn- I wonder if he’s even my child.”  
  
His eyes closed as he leaned against the wall. The dark night called and beckoned to him, promising better things if he would only leave. Take that chance and run. His lips thinned as he stared out, and back down at his hands. He could leave. He had twenty dollars- it was enough to catch a bus to the city, and from there it would be easy to keep wandering. He knew that.  
  
His eyes rose to the window, and before he could stop himself, he hauled himself up, over the edge, and ran.  
  
At the tender age of seven, he was on the street and free.

# Clint 

Clint Barton checked his bow for the fifteenth time, nerves eerily calm. His brother was gone. His brother had abandoned him- left. Fine then, he’d take care of himself. He didn’t need anybody.   
  
And he wasn’t going to stay at the circus any longer.   
  
He hefted the small duffle bag of valuables onto one shoulder- it was enough to get him to a major city, and from there he could do whatever he wanted. Nobody would know him in the city, no one would be able to find him.  
  
He ducked beneath the heavy cloth, tiptoeing across broken grass.  
  
“Clint?” A female voice, one that belonged to the scariest, but the most  _fun_  person he had ever known spoke up, soft and quiet. “Where are you-“  
  
“Shh, I’m running away.” He peered at her in the darkness. She was wearing all black, and held a gun. “Where are you going?”  
  
“I’m… It’s nothing. What do you mean running away?”  
  
“I’m leaving the circus and I’m not coming back.” Clint stated with the blunt efficiency of a ten year old. “Do you want to come with me?”  
  
Natasha was cool- she knew how to kill people, and she was the smartest person he had ever known. She was safe to bring along.   
  
“But- what will you do?”  
  
“I’m going to live the way I want too.”  
  
Natasha hesitated for a few moments before nodding.  
  
Together, hand in hand, the two rushed out of the circus, never to be seen again.

# Natasha

Natasha had killed people before- it had never bothered her. She’d done awful things before, and knew everyone respected her, even if she was only ten years old.   
  
But everyone didn’t include Clint, and that was why she had to stop to stare as she spotted the one ten year old in the world who didn’t fear her creep across the circus grounds. She was supposed to kill the ringmaster- he had gotten caught up in matters far too big for him to handle.   
  
But that didn’t explain why, why she put her hands in Clint, and let him convince her to run away.   
  
She was always a sucker for a good smile.

# Loki

Loki stormed across the ground, fists clenching and unclenching. His fool of a brother trailed after him, calling for him to stop, to explain.

  
Like he was going to explain to a stupid idiot of a brother. Like he was going to tell him that they weren’t related by blood, that the word his brother even now called him was a  _lie_.  
  
Mother and Father wouldn’t understand either. They would scold him, lock him up until he promised to behave, promised to be  _good_. He wasn’t. He wasn’t, he refused, and his brother couldn’t stop him.   
  
Strong arms caught him, held him close. “Brother, please, tell me what’s wrong.”  
  
“Stop calling me that.”   
  
“Brother? You are my brother.” The twelve year old refused to let himself be sidetracked, his famous one-track mind coming into play. Loki sneered, and Thor igonored. Thor often got those looks.  
  
“No, I am not. It’s a lie.”  
  
A crinkle formed inbetween Thor’s brows, indicating he didn’t understand. “A lie, brother? Surely not. We have grown together and played together. Does that not make us brothers?”  
  
“No, it doesn’t. Now put me down you stupid oaf. I’m leaving.”  
  
“Where too?”  
  
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. Just away from here.”  
  
Thor nodded as he put Loki down. Loki swallowed an unexpected lump, ruthlessly shoving the feeling away. “Then I shall travel with you.” Solemn, dark, and a  _promise_.  
  
Thor never broke his promises.   
  
Loki never said thank you, but the squeeze of a pale hand in a large tan one was answer enough.

# Tony

Tony Stark prodded a bruise beginning to form on one limb gingerly, scowling unhappily. Yeah, pay attention  _Stark_. You’re too  _wild_  Stark. Don’t think we can’t hurt you.  
  
He  _hated_  his parents, stupid, useless fools they were. He especially hated his teachers, even more useless that they feared the children that they were supposed to control. Honestly, was it that hard?  
  
“I hate idiots.”  
  
“I think everyone does.”  
  
The voice startled him, and he turned. A twelve year old, just one year older then him, sat on the bench. The entire neighborhood knew him as the homeless child that had drifted in- he hadn’t drifted out, though the nights were slowly growing colder and more bitter.   
  
Tony knew there were bets going on- bets that quickly stopped after the kid had flipped and beat the snot out of everyone. The rumors started up after that, and everyone gave him a wide berth.  
  
Except for him, because the kid didn’t scare him. Nobody scared him. He sat down next to the kid. “Yes, I suppose everyone does hate idiots. Where you headed off to next?”  
  
The kid shrugged. “Somewhere warmer. South. Maybe I’ll cross the border.”  
  
“Take me with you.” A desperate gleam of an idea, but he could see it now- the fireworks, the screams, the  _search_ ; And Tony would be going south with his new friend.  
  
One eyebrow rose. “That isn’t a good idea.”  
  
“I know, I know. You’ve got problems where you get big and mean when you’re angry. Whatever. Take me with you.”  
  
Unconsciously he rubbed a hand against a bruise, and the kid hesitated, eyes lingering where Tony rubbed. “Fine. The bus south is leaving in another hour. Its driver never cleans it, so it smells awful, but we can sleep in it.”  
  
Somehow the prospect sounded much better then his own feather bed, and by the tender age of eleven, Tony Stark had run away.

# Steve

_Who am I? Who am I? WhoamI?_

The thought refused to shut up, circling in his mind as he sat and stared at the opposite wall.  
  
He couldn’t remember. It was empty, blank,  _gone_.   
  
He sat in this small orphanage, in the middle of nowhere, and felt the need to… command. To tell people what to do. To help.   
  
He couldn’t. No one listened to a fourteen year old. No one would ever listen. So why was he still here?  
  
 _I’m waiting_.  
  
Waiting for who?  
  
 _The people I am to lead._  
  
Who are they?  
  
 _I will know them when I see them._  
  
What if they never come?  
  
 _They will. I just have to wait._

# Phil Coulson

Phil Coulson was a man with the opinion that so long as he did his paperwork correctly and on time, nobody would assign him to anything nasty. It had worked so far, in the past thirteen years of working here, but today it seemed doomed to fail.

  
“And this is your assignment.”  
  
He stared down at the pictures of the kids, grinning wildly and free, laughing and joking as they sat at the same table. Each one was labeled neatly and correctly. “One of our agents died getting that picture.” Fury’s voice was so dry; Coulson couldn’t tell whether Fury was joking.   
  
He decided Fury wasn’t as he peered closer at the picture and saw that the two people labeled Natasha and Clint had sharp pointy objects aimed at the cameras owner. Someone probably had died.   
  
It wasn’t a happy thought. It was rather horrifying, really. “Sir?” He dared to question, flipping to the profiles. Each one of them was scant (except on Tony Stark, everyone knew who Stark was) and he could feel it on the horizon- the quiet gathering of someone about to hand down the worlds worst mission.  
  
“We want them as part of Shield. A special response team.”  
  
“No. Look at them! Their eighteen!”  
  
“Some are nineteen.”  
  
“Nineteen! They aren’t even old enough to legally drink!”  
  
“That’s why its your job to get them to agree that you’ll be their legal guardian.  
  
Phil Coulson was thirty-five, no kids, and married to his job. He was  _not_  guardian material. “Me?”  
  
“You. Even if we were to return them to their parents, they would just run away again, so I figured its best to bring them in.”  
  
“Why? They’re nineteen years old, and they can’t possibly-“  
  
“They pulled off the Ross mission.”  
  
Phil stopped dead in his tracks. The ‘Ross’ mission was a high level scam that had just managed to clean out one General Ross of nearly all of his life savings, as well as all of the donations to one of his top-secret projects. Nobody knew who had pulled it off- they knew he had been throwing his own energy into tracking a specific guy, but that was about it. “These were the ones?”  
  
“That’s right. So go get them before a criminal organization does.”  
  
Phil couldn’t. There were a thousand, million reasons why he was the wrong man for this mission. All those reasons withered to ash when Fury shot him a single glare. “Yes sir.”  
  
He saluted sharply, turned on his heel, left the room, proceeded to the bathroom, where he proceeded to have a minor freak out. A freak out that included, quite memorably, of actually smiling at the mirror.  
  
The mirror cracked in disbelief.


	4. Ambushed

Bruce carefully ignored six sets of eyes fixated on him as he slowly unwound bandages from Thor’s torso, the first aid kit laid out beside him. Clint and Natasha both were watching the door, but he knew their attention was on him as he drew the last bloodied bandage away from the torso.  
  
Thor winced slightly as the bloody cloth came off, pulling at skin, but Bruce sighed in relief. There was no redness, no swelling, no inflammation. Thor was going to be fine.  
  
“Bruce? What’s the diagnosis?”  
  
His leader’s mighty voice was quiet in the room, but Bruce knew it was to help everyone. “Thor can keep his title of being the luckiest man alive.”  
  
Tony whooped in joy. “Great! That calls for a celebratory dinner! Who’s with me?”  
  
“Tony, we shouldn’t leave.” Steve frowned at him, all serious, and Tony rolled his eyes as Thor perked up at the word food.   
  
“It’s just takeout. Come on, it’s not gonna hurt anyone!”  
  
“I agree!” Clint sang out from where he and Natasha watched, ignoring Natasha’s eye roll. “Me and ‘Tash haven’t had anything to eat yet.”  
  
Steve frowned, calculating the odds of anyone being able to catch up with them so  _soon_  when Thor looked up at him with pleading eyes. It was like trying to tell a puppy no. You just couldn’t.  
  
“Fine.” Tony grinned victoriously, sharing an air high-five with Clint. “Tony and I will go. Clint, Natasha, you two stay here and keep further guard in case something happens. Bruce, whatever happens, focus on keeping Thor safe. Loki- go to the other rooms and make it look like we’ve slept there please. No need for anyone to get suspicious.”  
  
Loki nodded and slipped out as Bruce turned his attention back to the wound, gently prodding at it. Clint whined loudly, “But I wanna go too!”  
  
“Bruce will need you to help get Thor out if Ross catches up again.” Bruce flinched at the name, and Tony placed a hand on his shoulder. Thor smiled as well, using his good side to squish Bruce into a hug.  
  
“Do not be down! None may have guessed that Ross would recognize you from all those years ago!”   
  
Bruce smiled weakly at Thor’s booming reassurance. Clint made his own, rude suggestion of where exactly Ross could stick it. Tony laughed, Natasha simply muttered, “Men.”  
  
Tony swaggered out, Steve right behind him, shaking his head in fond exasperation, the lightest smile on his face.  
  
That’s about when the entire day went downhill.  
  
It started for the four in the room only a scant five minutes later, when Natasha frowned, ear cocking towards the hallway. “Men. A group of them.”  
  
Bruce looked up from where he had just finished bandaging Thor, a worried frown on his face. “Loki isn’t back yet.”  
  
Natasha backed away from the door slowly. “Get ready to run.”  
  
The silly smile on Thor’s face melted away as he nodded seriously, slowly levering himself out of bed, hissing softly in pain. Natasha grew stiff with each stifled gasp as Thor and Bruce limped towards the widow, preparing to make their escape. “Clint, go with them.”  
  
“But- ‘Tash-“  
  
“Go.”  
  
He brushed his fingers across hers, and hurried before them, throwing open the window. A second later he slammed it shut, swearing quietly. “Snipers. Thor, get into the bathroom. Bruce, help me block the window.”  
  
Bruce moved into position beside him easily, both of them communicating through hand signals. Loki hadn’t returned, and worry was beginning to seep into them. At the very least Steve and Tony would be free, but if Loki was wandering the hallways alone…  
  
A sharp knock came at the door, and a distinctly  _female_  voice spoke, “Room Service! May I come in?”  
  
Natasha looked back at them, and Clint faded forward, taking from the top. They knew how to play this- sound like rebellious teens, out wasting their parents’ money. “NO! Now go away!” He slurred the words, drunkenly.  
  
“Oh, but I insist!” Her voice took on a little more of a sultry tone. Clint rolled his eyes- Bruce shrank back from such words, internal barriers coming up. Natasha squeezed his shoulder, her own voice rising in perfect pitch.  
  
“Back off. He already has all the female he can handle!”

Bruce smiled wryly at that, slinking towards the bathroom, where Thor waited silently. The two of them sat, side-by-side, and Natasha took a deep breath.   
  
Bruce would be last-chance back up, because if he flipped into one of his moods, it didn’t matter how hurt he was, he wouldn’t stop. And then he would be depressed for weeks afterwards, and it wasn’t right that she- that  _none_  of them could do anything.  
  
Bruce pulled out a cell phone that Tony had designed just for them, and his eyebrows creased. He shook his head as he put it back, and turned to close the door.   
  
No cell phone service. They were surrounded with snipers. Loki had disappeared. Thor was  _injured_. Natasha ground her teeth together, felt white-hot fury burn along her limbs, felt her teeth bare in a savage snarl at the door. Clint took his own position at the window, lifting his bow into the air.   
  
There was a party popper on the end, designed to blow up at a certain height- a warning to Tony and Steve that they were under attack.   
  
Natasha smiled thinly as the silence outside of the door continued, and Clint let loose the arrow as a cry of pain echoed tremulously beyond the thick door.  
  
White flared into gold as she recognized it.  _Loki_. They had Loki and they had  _hurt_  him. It was probably a good thing that Thor wasn’t in the room to hear, or he’d of thrown open the door and charged.   
  
“Open the door now, or we’ll break it down.”  
  
The quiet threat to Loki went unsaid. The arrow exploded somewhere overhead, giving Tony and Steve fair warning as Natasha, stony faced and stiff as a board, opened the door.  
  
Loki, pale-faced and white as a sheet was suspended between two heavily armed men. All traces of his usual cocky smile were wiped off his face as he stared up at the men with pale, burning eyes promising ruination.   
  
Natasha sighed as she shook her head. “Loki, Loki, Loki, what am I going to do with you.”  
  
He shot her an apologetic smile. “They didn’t seem to accept any of my usual words.”  
  
That worried her, just a little. Loki and her were the same in their use of spinning words as a trap, making men and women both break down to their bare essentials, naked and screaming in abject horror of themselves.   
  
Loki smirked sardonically as Clint eased away from the window, still fingering his bow. “Where are the others?” The female agent, dressed in combat gear demanded.   
  
“Which ones?”  
  
“Thor, Steve, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Where are they?”  
  
Natasha willed herself to quail, to flinch away as if struck by the words, eyes filling with tears. “Thor is- is-“ She sniffled, turning away. She watched Clint’s eyes, watched a few of the agents shuffle, as if embarrassed. Amateurs.   
  
Hill didn’t flinch. “Search the rooms- the bathroom especially.”  
  
Uh-oh.   
  
Bruce could hide in the ceiling tiles easily- he was skinny enough to fit through a four-by-four, and light enough that the tiles wouldn’t break. Thor wasn’t. But Bruce should’ve shimmied up to a safe place.  
  
Two agents crossed the room, headed for the bathroom. Natasha let Clint watch them, as she kept her eyes on the agents holding Loki. Loki’s staff, the object he normally used in fights, was off to the side, tucked away and forgotten about. If she could take out the two agents and give him his staff, they would have a fighting chance.  
  
Thor’s bellow of agony came out of the bathroom, and any pleasantness at all in any of their faces were wiped right off. The cry of pain was shortly followed by Bruce’s war cry- and the war was  _on_.


	5. Assemble

Tony sashayed his way down the street, as if it were some sort of runway. Every step showed off his assets, and all Steve wanted to do was bury his hands in his face and try not to die from blushing too hard.  
  
“Tony, stop that!”  
  
“Oh, what’s the matter hot stuff, jealous?” Tony winked at him, pearly whites flashing in a brilliant grin.   
  
“The whole point of this is to stay  _out_  of pictures. What if someone recognizes you?”  
  
Tony snorted, waving a carefree hand as he moseyed into a Shawarma restaurant, peering at the menu. The credit card that contained all of their ill-gotten money balanced in the palm of his hand, and Steve couldn’t help but frown at it.  
  
He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to steal, lie, and cheat his way through life. But, neither could he leave the others. They trusted him, depended on him- and he  _needed_  them. Needed Tony to smirk like nothing was wrong and talking a mile a minute, Clint to laugh from his stomach as he crouched from above, Natasha to watch with a half-amused smile and perfect as she was, Thor and Loki to dance together in the rain without care, and Bruce to quietly nag them. He  _needed_  them.  
  
He couldn’t abandon them, not now, not  _ever_  no matter what they did. “What do you think Steve?”  
  
“I don’t know, Tony. You’re the one with the experience of ordering.”  
  
Steve tended to get asked many, many uncomfortable, personal questions. Tony was more of a careless, devil-take-all, and while he did notice quite a few girls, Tony knew just how to make them part for him.  
  
Tony shrugged, walked up to the counter, and began to order, enough food to feed a small army- Thor could, and would, eat most of it, not matter how disgusting he thought it was.   
  
Steve watched Tony, before reluctantly breaking his eyes away to scan the room. The restaurant was slowly emptying of people, leaving behind a strange mixture of men and women that looked like they worked out. Or were army people. “Tony.”  
  
Tony looked back, and Steve smile, remembering the code Natasha and Clint had made for them. “I don’t suppose they have gravy on the menu, would they?”  
  
Tony looked back at the menu, making a show of scanning it. “Nope. Wanna get out then?”  
  
“Yes, let’s.” The two began to scoot out of the room, when an utterly bland, just about faceless man stood in the doorway. He had sunglasses on, but he pulled them off as he walked in, unlike Tony who refused to take his off.   
  
“Steve and Tony Stark isn’t it?” He smiled blandly, without threat, but Steve felt himself tense anyways, felt Tony slide into place next to him, watching his back. It gave him a small measure of comfort, and he smiled at the man, shaking his head.  
  
“I’m afraid not.”  
  
“I’m pretty sure you are.” The man held up what looked to be dossiers, and Steve felt his blood run cold. Tony began to swear beneath his breath.   
  
Steve took a step forward, Tony synched to every move. “What do you want then?”  
  
“I want you all to work with me.”   
  
Tony  _laughed_. Steve watched stony-faced, his normal smile completely gone. “Doing what?”  
  
Clint and Natasha could kill when they wanted, could branch out to become assassins, but neither wished to go into that life. Both were far happier with their group, and their mostly non-killing crime sprees that mostly involved scams. Steve would prefer a life where hey didn’t have to steal at all, but it wasn’t possible. Not the way his group was built- they needed something to do, something to fight.  
  
“Saving people’s lives.”  
  
A  _spark_.  
  
Yes, yes, this was right, this was what he wanted, this was what he needed. Tony nudged him ever so slightly, and his mind was instantly drawn back to the present- to his team. “We’ll have to ask the rest of the team.”

“Of course.” The man smiled, still too bland for Steve’s tastes, as he stepped aside. “By the way, my name is Phil Coulson. Give me a call sometime.”  
  
A plain white card with only a number typed on it was passed over. Steve took it with a smile-  
  
Overhead, a loud  _pop_  noise burst.  
  
The smile left Steve’s face so fast, it might as well have been booted off. Coulson didn’t flinch, only one eyebrow rose as he turned to the side. “Report?”  
  
“A party popper was fired off sir.”  
  
Steve took two steps forward, grabbed Coulson by his shirtfront, and lifted. “What did you do to the rest of my team?”   
  
Safeties clicked off around the shop as agents, male and female started to their feet. “Stand down!” Coulson snapped. “I would like to know what’s going on as well. Did Ross catch up?”  
  
“No sir- Agent Hill was assigned to watch the group in the hotel, but she isn’t answer any of our calls.”  
  
Steve dropped Coulson, and sprinted out of the shop, Tony a step behind him. “Tony, find those machines- if they weren’t able to call us, then there’s probably some sort of high-tech equipment blocking the calls. Hack into their servers, try to slow them down and confuse them.”  
  
Tony nodded, and split off, circling in around. Steve pushed himself harder, running faster towards the hotel, in a straight, direct line. He would draw fire, catch everyone’s attention- including his teams.  
  
A window shattered overhead, and a man dressed in black combat gear went sailing out from overhead. Steve dodged the man, headed for the fire escape as a cry of pain came form a sniper.   
  
He took stairs five at a time, pushing himself to move faster, get there sooner, as Bruce’s war cry echoed in the suddenly still air. Seconds later, Thor’s roar echoed after, a low sound to Loki’s scream of anger.  
  
Another person went sailing out the window, and Steve pulled himself up, over the window ledge into a scene of chaos.  
  
Thor stood tall despite the bloody bandages wrapped around his side, attempting to protect his brother, even as his young brother attempted to protect him, staff lashing out in sharp, static patterns, slamming any who dared approach into the ground. Clint stayed at the window, taking down sniper after sniper, not letting any get a shot through the window. Bruce raged in the doorway, his fury and guttural roars indicating that he had flipped his mood. Natasha hung back, and got any that managed to get by Bruce, and weren’t instantly taken by Loki and Thor.  
  
Steve took a deep breath as he dove for a discarded gun, and brought it to his shoulder. They weren’t real bullets- he knew that instantly. The weight of the gun was all wrong. So what was in it.  
  
Bruce went down, still moving lethargically.   
  
Tranquilizers.   
  
Steve brought up the gun to fire at the agents, instantly lining up, even as he edged for his own bags.  
  
Tony had been very nice, and very good at what he did and found him a semi-automatic rifle. Well- at least that’s what Tony said- he had a feeling that Natasha had helped, but he didn’t want to question too closely at what was going on.   
  
Another sharp retort of a gun, and Thor slumped. Loki stood still for one terrible, terrible second, before he threw his head back and laughed. It was high-pitched, insane, jagged, and Natasha instantly scooted to one side, leaving a path between Loki and the agents at the door that had paused uneasily.

Gleaming madness shone in Loki’s eyes as he charged forward, and the cell phone on top of the bags crackled to life. Steve snatched it up, and fell into instant leadership mode. “Tony, bring down their communications, and anything electronic they might have. Get a car, bring it around. Natasha, grab Bruce and place him next to Thor- Clint, hunt those outside down. We’re going to escape. Loki, hold that doorway.”  
  
Loki snarled, savagely, but he still held the door, whirling his staff as he protected his brother. Steve grunted as he bent down to lift Thor into his arms, nearly staggering beneath the weight.   
  
They would have to abandon any items, but that was fine. Tony kept Jarvis close to his heart always, and the rest of them could easily give up a few possessions. Clint leaped out the window, racing along the fire escape, firing off at targets only he could see as Natasha gathered Bruce and followed Steve out. The two of them made their way down the escape, trusting in Clint to keep the agents off their back.  
  
The low roar of a van pulling up caught their attention- it was big enough to hold all of them, and Steve grunted as he placed Thor down gently. Bruce was tucked in beside him, as Tony leaned out of the window, impatiently gesturing them to hurry up. Steve clambered in, voice deepening into a deep roar that could be heard for  _blocks_.  
  
“ASSEMBLE!”  
  
Clint flew down the stairs, Loki darted out of the window, both running for the truck as Natasha pulled herself up next to Tony. Steve left the back doors open, lifting his gun to give his team room to move, cracking shot after shot off.   
  
Tires squealed the second Clint jumped in, and Clint knelt to grab Loki by the hand and pull him in as the car took off. Bruce groaned, an echoing murmur followed by Thor. Clint lifted his bow, taking careful aim, and shot.  
  
A car behind them, chasing them, exploded.  
  
Natasha shouted and yelled as Tony drove, and Loki collapsed next to Thor, pale hands drifting across Thor’s forehead. “How are they doing?”  
  
The car went over a bump, and Thor grunted. “Drugged.” Loki reported distantly, even as he began to search the van for anything they could use. “Thor reopened his wound it looks like.”  
  
The blood was beginning to seep completely through the bandages and stain the floor. Steve muffled a curse. “I don’t dare take off the bandages right now without Bruce. We’ll have to wrap it tighter and hope it holds until Bruce wakes up.”  
  
“It’ll take hours.” Loki protested weakly. “If we’re lucky. If we’re not, then he’ll be of no use because he’s hallucinating.”   
  
The car shuddered to a stop, and Tony was forced out, and they switched drivers. Clint fired another arrow. Another car exploded. Steve thought of the phone number in his pocket, and frowned. “Tony- can you hack into their communications so we can get a chance to hear what they’re saying?”  
  
“Yeah, easily. I’ll be in and out of there like virus- leaving destruction in my wake.”  
  
Very easy apparently, as a few seconds later, Tony’s souped up speakers in his put-together laptop began to blast a female voice at shrill, dangerously high levels. “Get those cars around, and bring up whoever’s left to chase them!”  
  
“Agent Hill.” Steve and Tony both perked up, recognizing the voice as Agent Coulson. His voice was low, dangerously bland. “What do you think you’re doing?”

 

Tony rolled his eyes as he said aloud, “Hill huh? Her voice ought to be a weapon, I think my eardrums just burst.”  
  
“Shush.”  
  
“-your orders were to wait until my signal and follow. You were not to engage unless they engaged  _first_.”  
  
“One of them had left the room-“  
  
“Three of them had left the room! You not only put everyone into danger, but you have officially alienated the teens from us.”  
  
“They weren’t going to say yes, and I see no reason to coddle them.”  
  
“We want a team that works with us, not against us. They have an injured.”  
  
“Two now.”  
  
There was a long moment of silence. Steve leaned forward, and even Loki was watching the back of Tony’s head. “What did you do?”  
  
“The Tranquilizers have hallucinogens mixed with them. They won’t get far.”  
  
“Agent Hill, you are to step down immediately. The search is to continue, but when spotted, you will not engage. Hill, you and I have many, many things to discuss.”  
  
The line went dead.  
  
Tony began to swear, creatively and inventively. “Hallucinogens? She mixed the two?! Whose idea was that?!”  
  
“Hers. At least we have one ally in the group.”  
  
Clint snorted. “Ally? You mean the guy? Sure didn’t seem like that to me. Sounded like he couldn’t keep his guys in line.”  
  
“I agree.” Natasha murmured coolly, swerving right through the traffic. “Where shall we go?”  
  
“Tony… Do you think you can trace this number to Coulson’s house?”  
  
Protests instantly arose, mixing and rising above each other. “You’re not really planning on-“ “You have gotta be kidding-“ “They hurt Thor and Bruce!” “He’s with them, and just as bad-“  
  
“Enough!” Steve barked, eyes growing cold. “I don’t trust him. But- they’ve been doused with hallucinogens, and Bruce is the only one of us that knows any kind of medical knowledge at all.” He ignored Tony’s mutter of learning how, “Moreover- Coulson may have the cure to it in his home.”  
  
That brought a spark of interest to Tony’s eyes. “Now that sounds marvelous Cap! Hand it over.”


	6. Unexpected and Yet Completely Predicted

Coulson wearily trudged up the stairs towards his tiny apartment, shoulders slumped forward. Every bone in his body ached from standing, and yelling in his own oblique was at Hill. She had yelled right back, and his ears, even now, rung slightly.  
  
The woman really, really needed to learn how to control her voice and her actions. She listened to Fury and Fury only, and Fury had said to bring them in. So, she was going to bring them in whether they liked it or not, but Coulson would be the one babysitting them.  
  
He reached his apartment door and stopped dead.   
  
It had been tampered with.   
  
He hesitated outside of it, before at last shrugging. There was only one group he could think of being in there, and if they were, then it made his job a little easier. Or a little harder.  
  
He pushed open the door, and ducked the gun butt headed for his nose, and took a step right to avoid an arrow to the knee. There was a low groan of disappointment from the two teens as they moved to try again, but Coulson merely raised an eyebrow at them. “If you’re going to fight me, at least let me get inside where we won’t disturb the neighbors.”  
  
The teen with the bow laughed, eyes sparking in delight. A third voice, one that he recognized, spoke up, “Clint, Natasha, let him in.”  
  
Coulson took a deep breath, preparing himself for the chaos he would undoubtedly find- he didn’t twitch when he walked in through the door.  
  
The small living room had been completely cleared of all furniture, and all blankets and mattresses were laid out on the floor, pushed side by side. Loki had Thor’s head in his lap, singing softly in some foreign language as he ran a hand through golden hair. Bruce was curled up on the second mattress, leaning against Tony, who typed away on Coulson’s old computer merrily.   
  
Steve was cooking at Coulson’s stove. “Hello Agent Coulson. I hope that you don’t mind us dropping in.”  
  
“Not at all. How are they doing?”  
  
Bruce mumbled, and groaned, nudging into Tony’s leg. Tony spoke up. “Not so good. Bruce doesn’t do well with hallucinogens. Want to give us a cure for it?”  
  
“Right here. I brought one for each of you in case this happened.”  
  
“Ooh, you’re certainly mister prepared, aren’t you? By the way, we like your gun rack back there.” Tony jerked a finger back, as Clint somehow, eerily, managed to climb up into the ceiling to watch what was going on. Natasha walked back to Bruce, and pulled him into her lap, carding his hair through her fingers.  
  
“Tony.” Steve warned, even as Tony took the antidote from Coulson, “Be nice to him.”  
  
“Why should I?”  
  
“Because we are currently his guests.”  
  
“Oh really? Because last I knew we were inviting ourselves. You just want to pretend this is legal.”  
  
“Don’t go there, Tony.”   
  
Obviously, the team was stressed if they were arguing so quickly. Coulson stepped in diplomatically. “You can stay the night if you wish. I won’t call anyone.”  
  
“We know. We took care of that already.”  
  
“Tony!”  
  
“What, I’m just letting him know! Lighten up, Steve!”  
  
Steve glared as he scraped off food onto plates, and brought them into the living room. He placed one by Loki, giving him a simple look. Loki ignored his to focus on his brother as he coaxed him to drink the antidote to the tranquillizers. Natasha nodded as Steve placed another next to her, attention focused on Bruce. “Come and get your food, Tony.”  
  
“Nope. Not moving.” Coulson blinked when he realized that Tony had a hand on Banners wrist, measuring the steady pulse beat. Clint hung upside down for a few moments, collecting the plate Steve gave him, before swinging back up into the ceiling tiles.   
  
“Don’t drop any food up there, Clint.”  
  
“I won’t.”   
  
One plate was given to Tony, and another to Coulson, and then, like it was some silent signal, Coulson could hear the sounds of munching.  
  
Bruce and Thor slept on, oblivious, as night slowly passed, and each of the teens slowly dropped into sleep on the small mattress and blanket pile they had made for themselves, tangled in each others limbs.


	7. A Better Offer

Bruce woke up first, in total darkness. He could feel Tony leaning on his right arm, cutting off the circulation. Natasha leaned on his left, keeping him safe.  
  
He closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.  
  
\------  
  
Thor awoke to the first tendrils of light seeping in through the window, and shifted slightly. His side throbbed, but all warriors learned how to ignore wounds when needed. Loki mumbled softly, for once not up earlier then him. Thor smiled as he twisted enough to drop a brushing kiss against his brothers forehead.   
  
Loki leaned into him, affectionate with actions, if not in words. Natasha was nearby, and he could see Steve propped up against the wall, ever watchful of his team. Thor smiled. He was a good leader, and Thor could do learning how to be such a leader as he.  
  
He pulled himself to his feet, felt his side protest as he looked around. It was an apartment building, one he didn’t recognize, but he was _hungry_. And there was a fridge, which beckoned.  
  
And everyone woke up to the mighty belch Thor gave after he had eaten his fill.  
  
\---------  
  
Tony laughed his head off at the look Coulson had on his face as he stared at his fridge empty of all meat products. Thor grimaced as Bruce rebandaged him, tutting softly, half-wincing with each movement.   
  
“Hangover?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
His reply was short, surly, but soft and Bruce was more than willing to nuzzle into Tony’s side.   
  
Coulson cleared his throat as he closed his fridge door. “Now that you are all awake and listening, I’d like to clarify the offer I gave Steve. We’d like you to work for us- just as consultants. On a case-by-case basis. You do the jobs, and we’ll take care of the clean-up.”  
  
“What sort of jobs exactly?”  
  
“There will be a variety and you can pick and choose of course.” Coulson smiled blandly, not a hint of his intentions showing through as he lifted his briefcase onto the table. “I have several if you would like to see.”  
  
Steve did- Thor did as well as he grabbily reached over to pick one up. Tony rolled his eyes, but wrapped an arm around Bruce as he leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder to read. Up in the ceiling, a tile shifted slightly. Natasha looked up, before imperiously crooking a finger.   
  
Clint dropped down, scowling, as Loki snatched the file from Thor. “Honestly, you oaf, you’ll tear the paper. Let me read it to you.”  
  
Thor beamed good-naturedly, smiling and nodding as he boomed his agreement.  
  
Coulson never knew someone could be so loud without trying- now he knew why they sent Thor in first as a distraction. He was handsome enough to catch any persons attention, and loud enough to catch everyone else.   
  
“This one. Voltimere. A smuggler. He stole valuable materials in transit?” Steve seemed interested in it- Tony’s eyes narrowed slightly.   
  
“I notice that there’s a lot of do-gooder stuff on here, Agent. We’re scammers. You know, bad people.”  
  
“Remarkably precise for scammers- targeting only those who can more then afford it, hitting them and only them… It could be considered Robinhood, if you donated that money.”   
  
Steve blushed slightly, and Thor looked the slightest bit sheepish.  
  
Bruce didn’t raise his head from where he lay, eyes still closed. Clint circled around to rub his back, and Natasha crossed to the fridge, glaring at Thor pointedly. Thor didn’t notice, too busy listening to Loki, nodding every now and then like he understood.   
  
Tony stated out loud, “This seems rather sketchy to me. They did just try to kidnap us.”

 

Coulson continued smiling blandly. Bruce spoke up from where he lay, “You haven’t told us the catch. What happens if we refuse.”  
  
“Then according to all policies, my organization will be forced to return you to your legal guardians.”  
  
Dead. Silence.  
  
Even Natasha seemed frozen where she sat. “We have located approximately fifteen safe houses you have across the country, and another eighteen points you must cross to reach a major city to hide in.”  
  
Bruce opened an eye and stared at him for a second. “Only eighteen? I know of at least twenty-five.”  
  
That confirmed the rumor that Bruce had been traveling by foot long before he had traveled by car. It niggled at Coulson, to think of a seven or eight year old walking through the desert and the wilderness without anywhere to go. But he was nineteen now, well-used to traveling. He promised to be the hardest to bring the net down on, other then Natasha and Clint.  
  
Those two had both tensed, automatically falling in behind Steve. Thor wrapped an arm around Loki, gone stiff and cold, a low, warning rumble beginning to work its way out.  
  
Tony grabbed Steve’s hand, and  _squeezed_. Steve squeezed back. “Even if you do split us up, we’re just going to get back together again. And again, until we’re legally old enough that we can’t be sent back. In fact, Bruce can’t be, he’s old enough to be considered an adult.”  
  
“Then they go to prison.” Now eyes were burning in fury. “It is much harder to escape from there.”  
  
“Not always.” Bruce supplied, again. “I know of several where it’s very easy.”  
  
Again, another stab of uneasiness. Natasha nodded but Clint didn’t look too sure. Coulson smiled in response. “That is of course, if you choose not to help out.”  
  
Steve looked around at his team, his  _family_  and Coulson could see it clearly written on his face. “Then I suppose we can’t refuse such a generous offer.”  
  
Tony spoke up again, “So, what’s our benefits?”  
  
“An entire organization backing you, doing cleanup. Any toy you could possibly wish for. Doctors. Laboratories. Training rooms, safe houses that are actually fully equipped.”  
  
“A horse?” Thor asked innocently, but completely and utterly seriously. Coulson’s face twisted as Tony didn’t bother to hide his laughter.   
  
“You’ll have to buy your own, but we do pay well.”  
  
Loki actually seemed to agree with Thor on the horse subject- he had a slightly wistful look on his face. “A snake. And a place to rest.”  
  
The benefits were clearly emphasized here. Even Tony looked a little eager, at the idea of having so many electronics at his fingertips. Bruce curled up a little tighter as Natasha’s lips pursed, reminding Coulson that not everyone was happy.  
  
Steve was the leader however, and the team would follow what he said. “Steve?”  
  
Steve looked a little unhappy, but also a little excited. “I don’t see how we can refuse.” Bruce mumbled something into his hands, “Very well then. We do still get too chose our missions, correct?”  
  
“There will be a few that we’ll throw at you unexpectedly, but for the most part, yes. You will get too choose.”  
  
Bruce struggled up into a sitting position, still leaning against Tony, and Coulson wondered if the antidote wasn’t working properly, or if Bruce simply didn’t care who saw him, he was clinging.  
  
Tony agreeably fished out a folder, and flipped it open. Steve eyed the five folders, now scattered around the room, before saying softly, “We will have to discuss it of course.”  
  
He was being kicked out of his own house, by that polite smile. Oh the life of a agent. 


	8. Decisions

“It’s a trap.” Tony snapped, the second Coulson had left the room.  
  
Loki nodded his agreement, long pale fingers reaching for Thor. “I agree. This organization- what does it benefit from having us? We steal back their items- and then what? Were those materials even stolen in the first place?”  
  
Bruce murmured, “We can skip out of country. It’s easy to cross the border if you know how. We can go south.”  
  
“Oh, sure.” Clint snapped back, “A bunch of white teens? We’d be caught in seconds.”  
  
Bruce glared back. “Then would you rather go north? Towards the cold?”   
  
Loki smiled at that idea, his mind playing with the idea of eternal white snow drifts, and the howling winds. Thor thought of it- the vast wilderness without end. Tony shook his head instantly, “No. I’d have to leave Jarvis behind.”  
  
The teens looked to where the laptop sat innocuously, as Steve spoke up. “We owe Coulson at least one of these missions.”  
  
“Excuse me?! He was the one who got us injured in the first place! If it weren’t for him-“  
  
“We’d be locked up. If he hadn’t called off that search, hadn’t told Hill to stand down, more of us would be injured. He brought the antidotes.” Steve frowned at the table, staring down at the manila folders. “We at least owe him one mission.”  
  
Thor nodded. “Indeed! We owe him a debt!”  
  
Natasha’s mouth drew into a thin slash. The word debt always made her quieter then normal, made her pull into herself, dark and cold. “If we owe him a debt, then we should repay it. We can keep them at a arms length while we work on their _missions_.” She spat out the word, venomous and dripping.  
  
Steve nodded, “While we’re working on that, we’ll research ways to drop into the ground and run where this organization can’t follow us.”  
  
Bruce perked up, interested in that. “India maybe? I could work as a doctor- they’ll be happy to accept that.”  
  
“I say to Finland!” Thor boomed, smiling in happiness. “There is many mountains there, and we may ride reindeer.”  
  
Loki shook his head, sarcasm dripping from his words, “Brother dearest, you know why we cannot go north in Europe.”  
  
Thor’s face fell.   
  
Steve clapped the big man on his shoulder, and pointed to the folders. “Tony, can you research these, get every last bit of information you can on them, and Bruce, you start looking up ways to get in and out. We’ll want to be invisible as possible on our routes.”  
  
For now, they would work with Shield, and wait- wait for the chance to run.


	9. That's One Way To Do It

The house was guarded by a small, private army. Coulson adjusted his binoculars, wondering how the seven planned on retrieving the irridum. It was not only on the lowest level, but you had to have a retina scan in order to enter the room.  
  
Fancy music played softly, the sweet hum of sounds of peacefully lullaby singing to the chatting party-goers. The entire atmosphere was relaxed.  
  
The doors to enter the room were set above, giant staircases slowly winding down to towards the bottom. In the middle of the room lay a stone alter, cracked but not ruined, held up by ancient beasts that had no name.  
  
Up above, doors swung open, and Loki entered the ballroom, dressed in a snappy suite, and long hair slicked back. A green and white scarf swirled in a self-made breeze, and he walked with his eyes sparking in some inner delight.  
  
Not a single guest took notice of him.  
  
Coulson felt dread beginning to grow in his stomach as the speaker of the night stepped forward. Quickly, he scanned the crowd, as the one person he trusted enough to help monitor announced, “Movement on the east side.”   
  
Coulson put down the binoculars, missing someone, tall and blond wit a sparkling smile of good-will slipped through the crowd, making his way closer to the target.   
  
He instead saw two dark forms speed past the camera, and sharp projectiles slip through the night. Guards fell, propped up by the wall, looking mostly alert if it weren’t for the fact that they had something sticking out of their necks.   
  
The shadows moved, and the bodies were shifted ever so slightly; dead man watching and looking.  
  
Coulson drew a sharp, sucking breath in-between his teeth, and switched his attention back to the ballroom.  
  
Loki lifted a hand- and like magic a spear flashed into existence. With a single, expert twirl, he slammed his staff into the midriff of the closest guard, and brought it down on the head of the other.  
  
Both guards dropped like stones, and partygoers began to scream as they headed for exits. In the confusion, no one noticed a blond young man tug an older man towards a side-door leading deeper into the mansion.  
  
Steel frames slammed into place over windows and doors, blocking the entrance. Guards came rushing up, bypassing the old man and his young escort, heading for the source of the confusion.  
  
A huge, tall man dropped down in front of them, holding a hammer. Lightning crackled and snapped, spinning wildly away from the head of the hammer. Coulson blinked, rubbed at his eyes, and looked again, attempting to seek what was going on-  
  
The thin flash of light, and it snapped into place- those idiots were using holographic projectors, fooling the eyes, even as the untrained men armed with only pistols fell back.  
  
Behind Thor, a smaller form lurked, leveling a small gun, aim and  _fire_.  
  
One of the men fell back, screaming as lightning arced towards him, masking the small flash of a taser. The other guards went pale white- broke and ran.  
  
“KNEEL!” Loki’s scream rose above the shrieks of the people, commanding and dark at once. Thor looked behind him, a smile gracing his lips as Loki prowled around the room.  
  
Loki was a poisonous butterfly, gorgeous and enthralling, every line grace and beauty, with the venom dripping from his fangs stained with blood. “Is this not easier?” He purred softly, feet soft on the carpet as scared, terrified people knelt to him, heads down and shaking.  
  
Coulson tore his eyes from the screen, back to where Steve had managed to drag the old man.

 

Tony waited patiently by the eyes can, fiddling with a few wires. He grinned at Steve. Steve nodded back, grip shifting from helping to confining without so much as a blink.  
  
Two dark shadows took their place beside them, guarding their backs.   
  
The old man’s face grew pale as he was shoved in front of the scanner, and up above Loki’s insane laugh echoed in the room.   
  
Thor moved to towards Loki, deadly grace belying thick muscle, his own blond hair wild and tossed back as if he were some vengeful god of old, here to claim what was his.  
  
Loki smiled, sharp daggers in his eyes as he gestured grandly to the alter. “Come my brother- we should have a sacrifice! We should let the blood spill into the earth, hear the earth cry out and call up the storm.”  
  
Thor laughed, a booming laughter, as deep as a thunder roll- Coulson could suddenly see why Odin had said that Thor was correctly named. “The storm comes already! Can you not hear it sing in the wind bróðir? Put up your gandr, and look to the skies!”  
  
Coulson frowned- there was no news of a storm in the weather, but even as he thought that, a low roll of thunder rumbled in the distance, as the wind began to pick up, loud enough to be heard in the silence.  
  
People began to look at each other uneasily, through their eyelashes as Thor approached the ancient alter. The large man climbed on top, lifting his hammer to the heavens. Loki watched, smile playing on his lips as he enjoyed the shocked fear. “ANSWER THUNDER!”  
  
Thunder boomed and crashed- the iron gates went up, doors swung open, and everyone scattered like the four winds, as Loki threw his head back to laugh.  
  
He spirited himself up to Thor, wrapping both arms around his brother, before kissing him where all could see as the storm broke overhead, pouring rain on panicked partygoers.   
  
And deep in the earth, unnoticed by all, an old man lay unconscious, robbed of his ill-gotten goods.


	10. Paper-work Induced Flashback

Paperwork. Everywhere. He was  _drowning_  in it. Press was going wild, Shield was doing double time, and the seven had vanished off the maps after pulling off their spectacular stunt. Oh, and the small stash of holographic projectors he had mentioned to Steve had gone missing.   
  
Coulson arrived home to seven smiling faces.   
  
“I am  _not_  going to ask.”  
  
“Yes, you are.” Tony announced. Bruce shook his head at him, but his own, quiet smile didn’t fade. “See, even Bruce wants to tell you what happened.”  
  
“I have paperwork for you.”  
  
“What?! We risk life and limb for you and you expect us to fill out paperwork? Steve- Steve- you have got to be kidding me, you’re actually filling it out? You too, Bruce? C’mon, we were up all night reprogramming those holographic projectors!”   
  
“That, unless you fill out this paperwork, you stole.” Coulson put in, not looking at him as he handed a stack to Natasha and Clint. Thor looked puzzled at the idea of a pen, and Loki eyed it in disgust, before producing a  _gorgeous_  quill pen from out of nowhere.  
  
Coulson might have to steal it.   
  
Tony scans his own paperwork in, and ordered Jarvis to finish it all, and when Tony wasn’t looking, Bruce pulled over some of the paperwork to him, the same way Natasha pulled over Clint’s, and Loki pulled over Thor’s.  
  
Steve courageously struggled through his, and smiled gratefully when Tony helped him out with his while Jarvis steadily worked through it with them.  
  
Coulson watched them for a few moments, before asking, “How did you all get together anyways?”  
  
They looked at each other, hesitating, and quiet for a few moments. Finally, Tony shrugged. “Me ‘n’ Bruce were taking a bus when it flipped over, and we were caught. We got hauled off to a small orphanage- it rained, and the rest of these guys straggled in. We broke out, and been on the road ever since.”  
  
There was a lot missing. For one thing, Steve had been a  _good_  boy before them, but had agreed to run off with them. For another, Bruce didn’t seem like the type to let in others so easily, and neither did Loki.  
  
Loki paused, the feather ruffling slightly in the wind, and Coulson couldn’t help the stab of envy once again. He really,  _really_  wanted one of those. It would make the tedium of paperwork much less boring.

 

Steve watched him, watching them, before offering quietly, “I was planning on leaving… to go searching before then. When they came in… well, it just clicked.”  
  
 _Wind howled through the trees, mournfully plucking at the seams of the small orphanage. A young child wailed in response, trying to drown out the hollow sound.  
  
Steve stared at his two new roommates, one of which impassively ignored him, and the other of which seemed to be terrified him. “Hi, I’m Steve.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bruce, focus here. How long do you think the storm should take? We gotta get back on the road the second it does.”  
  
“Shortly before dawn, but Tony-“  
  
“No buts. We’ll go out the window.”  
  
Steve felt the need to jump in. “It won’t work. They have an electric fence to keep in the cows.”  
  
Tony felt the need to curse everything in existence- Steve blushed._  
  
“Me and ‘Tash came in after the storm picked up- we didn’t expect the owners to try and call the police on us!”  
  
 _When it was announced that one more boy would be housed in the room, Steve had tried not to let his disappointment show- it wasn’t anyone’s fault that the orphanage was so tiny, out here in the middle of the country, and it certainly was nobody’s fault that more people seemed to be streaming in. He had heard already of two diplomats’ children having been found out in the rain, and brought in._  
  
The blond head poked around the ladies legs, and he grinned cheekily at all of them. “Pleased to meet you! I’m Clint. This is Natasha.”  
  
The girl beside him nodded solemnly, and Steve offered his seat on the bed to her, if she wished to stay, grateful that he had managed to clean up before the storm hit.   
  
She took it, with Clint at her side, and neither of them let go of each others hands.   
  
Steve looked helplessly around, as Tony announced, “Bruce and I are blowing this joint! Who’s with me?”  
  
Instantly, two very interested eyes fell on Tony. Bruce nodded outside. “According to Steve there’s an electric fence, but if the wind keeps blowing like this, then all power should blow out around midnight.”  
  
Clint offered seriously, “I can help it blow out by then.”  
  
Steve made an outraged noise, “No! They depend on the generator for water from the pump!”  
  
“Eh, all I have to do is trip the breaker. Easy.” Tony announced, waving a hand.  
  
“The adults will be patrolling you know.”  
  
“Then we’ll just have to find someone who can guide us out, won’t we?”

 

Loki sniffed delicately. “My brute of a brother was the one who found us shelter when I insisted. If I had known what lay within, I would’ve happily avoided it.”  
  
Clint leaned over to nudge Loki, “You met us, didn’t you? I’d have to say that was a good thing.”  
  
 _Loki brushed dripping wet hair out of his eyes as he sneered at the smaller children. Thor was practically vibrating in happiness, staring out of the widow with large eyes. Always the storm lover that one._  
  
Thor’s father had always joked that Thor had been born to the clash of thunder as lightning flashed- called him his little thunder god. It hurt, to remember, so he didn’t. Instead he surveyed the moving masses, looking for someplace clear, as Thor bragged about how he had found this place, because he could see through the rain.  
  
Not exactly true, but close enough. Thor had an uncanny knack for feeling when a storm would strike, and how to navigate through a storm. It wasn’t very important.  
  
They, at the very least, seemed to of attracted attention, as bright, curious eyes looked over at them.   
  
It wasn’t until after the adults left when another kid swaggered up to them, smile dark and smoky. “I heard that you walked here through the storm?”  
  
“Verily!” Thor bragged.  
  
“Think you can guide us out?”  
  
Loki stepped in, “Why would we do that?”  
  
The single female of the group stepped up, smile thin and daring. “Because otherwise, you’ll both be hauled off back home as well- don’t think you won’t. They’re calling the police right now.”  
  
Loki paused, eyeing the kids. “So what do you want us to do?”  
  
“Can you lead us to route 18?” A small kid, looking thin enough to snap in the sharpest wind padded up to them. “There’s an old truck stop there, abandoned. We can hide out there for the night, before cutting up across east towards the big city to loose any pursuit.”  
  
He sounded like he knew how to run, unlike Thor and Loki both. They had only been doing this for several months, he spoke with the assurance of years. Loki didn’t like a puzzle. “And how would you know? How long have you been traveling?”  
  
“Ever since I was seven.” He smiled slightly, evenly, like it was nothing more then a joke rather then most of the years of his life. “I know the country like the back of my hand. You have too- or you get picked up by police.”  
  
Yes, This one would work. “Very well, only to the truck stop though. After that, I expect we’ll part ways.”  
  
“You’re not going to the city?”  
  
“No. We just came from that one.”

 

“Steve here about had a heart attack when we planned to run away in his room, but he decided to join us.”  
  
 _They were disorganized. Sloppy. They weren’t going to be able to get far. They were going to be killed out in the storm. But Bruce looked calm, Tony was cocky, Natasha and Clint were busy with their own planning, with their new friends Thor and Loki quietly discussing on whether or not they could get away with taking a blanket with them.  
  
Steve took a deep breath, feeling some invisible knot inside of him tighten with… what? “You’re not going to make it. The storm is too violent, you’ll get separated. You need to rope together- Natasha, you’re the best at sneaking around, right? There’s a coil of rope in the basement. We’re going to need it.”  
  
Natasha blinked at him, and Tony pulled himself off of the floor to snarl, “Why should we listen to you?”  
  
Steve took a deep breath, reminded himself that this was what he was made for, and looked Tony right in the eye. “Because I can lead us out of here.”  
  
“Us?” Clint spoke up now, interested.   
  
“Us. I- I have to find some people. They were supposed to come, but they haven’t, and I have to go after them instead.” Glances were exchanged, and Steve reminded dryly, “You are planning in my room.”  
  
“Done.”  
  
“Then here’s how we’re going to do it. Tony, you hit the breaker and turn off the electricity, Bruce, you keep the adults distracted. Natasha, retrieve the rope, and Thor and Loki here will tie in first. Once Tony trips the breaker, everyone return here to tie in, and we’ll go out the window. We have a five minute opening- the adults will catch us otherwise.”  
  
“Very well then!” Thor boomed softly, “It shall be done.”  
  
A thrill filled him, telling him that this- this was what he wanted. _  
  
Steve blushed slightly, head ducking in response. “I had my own reasons. But, I think that my reasons have changed, now. And it wasn’t exactly smooth those first few months- Bruce was the only one who knew the roads even without a map, so we stuck with him, and tried to keep Natasha and Loki from killing each other.”  
  
He paused, considering his words. At last he shrugged, “I haven’t found the ones I was supposed to, but I found better ones.” Steve had his family, had those around him, and really- it was  _perfect_. Just perfect like this.  
  
Coulson feared suddenly, what would happen if someone tried to drive them apart.


	11. Split up

The road to trust was a long one, filled with being woken up at two in the morning, installing a thin mattress in the ceiling, agreeing that the television was unnecessary after Bruce put his fist through it, that a horse was a fine steed indeed but no Thor couldn’t have one, no Loki you couldn’t have a snake, and Natasha put down that gun and eat-  
  
Anyways- it was a long road, marked with a steady refusal to go anywhere near a SHIELD base, no matter how much Coulson nudged them. Instead they drifted in and out of his apartment, like they owned it.   
  
Judging by the fact his landlord had changed sometime, he had a feeling they really did own the building. Coulson sighed as he walked into his apartment, a heavy briefcase of new missions carefully filed away for now, ready for his single crack team to pick and choose.  
  
He took one look around, and turned to the single sane member.  
  
“Steve, please get your team under control.”  
  
“Hmm?” Steve looked up where Bruce and Tony crowded over a laptop, trying to create a mini-GLADOS; Loki and Natasha were having a face-off, sniping and yelling at each other; Thor and Clint butted heads over whether an arrow or a hammer would be the best to catch a person off guard and kill them.   
  
Steve looked around them, eyeing them for a minute, before shrugging. “They’re all having fun.”  
  
Oh  _joy_.   
  
Steve glanced at the full briefcase. “Is it just me, or are they sending us more jobs?”  
  
“You’re the team that’s lasted the longest.” Sad, but true. Most teams fell apart after having to work so intimately together, and the ones that already were that close fell apart after awhile as inner jealousies arose, and-  
  
Natasha was snogging Loki. Clint was smiling as he paused to drop a kiss on her cheek. Thor looked a little put out, but perked up when Clint nudged him and whispered something in his ear, nodding eagerly. Tony was edging far too close to Bruce, arm snaking around his waist.  
  
Steve blinked at the expression on Coulson’s face. “If I didn’t know you better Coulson, I would think you surprised.”  
  
“Not quite,” Coulson replied duly, shifting slightly to look directly at Steve. “So here’s your assignments, which one-“  
  
“Do you have a preference?”  
  
It was a very, very good thing that Steve wasn’t watching him. Otherwise he’d see the agent gaping like a fish. “I-“  
  
“Also, would you like to come with us on our next mission?”  
  
Blown. Away. Completely.  
  
“Do you need help with it?” He questioned softly, almost worriedly (but he wasn’t because he wasn’t attached no matter what Fury said) and Steve shook his head.  
  
“No. We simply wanted to show you what the team could do.” It sounded an awful lot like a boy coming to his parents, proud and happy of what he had done.   
  
A lot.  
  
No.  
  
No, no,  _no_.  
  
They didn’t-  
  
Coulson turned to see Loki and Natasha on each others laps, smiling softly, and Tony pressing a tender kiss to Bruce’s cheek. “Kids. Play safe.”  
  
Bruce and Tony exchanged significant looks, before Natasha drawled lazily, “Yes, father.”  
  
There it was. The last nail in his coffin.   
  
They were going to be the death of him.   
  
\------------  
  
“Did you see that! The look on that man’s face!” Tony laughed as he spun in a little circle, chest puffed out, and cocky smile plastered on. Bruce trailed after him, silently padding along the cold hallway, eyes uneasily flickering from side to side, but content to let Tony lead and catch everyone’s attention.  
  
Steve held the right position, quietly and studiously understated in his plain clothing, but holding the duffle bag close to his chest, one hand casually slipped inside in case he needed to grab the weapons stored within. Next to him, Loki smiled as he was a half-step behind Bruce, hiding within the thick muscle walls of his teammates, staff tapping on the ground.  
  
Holding the left position was Thor, his blond hair falling back and practically glittering, just as flashy as Tony without even having to speak- he was dressed in  _ceremonial_  armor, complete with a red cape.   
  
Behind them flowed Clint and Natasha, both of them smiling without any meaning, both of them wound tense as a wire, ready to attack at the slightest hint of danger.  
  
Behind them trailed Phil Coulson, nurse, nanny, and mother to this weird little group that he had  _finally_  convinced to officially come down to Shield Headquarters. He didn’t doubt for a second though they had scouted it out beforehand- there was a loose grill on one of the ducts, and a flicker of red hair on a security camera.  
  
Tony Stark was good at erasing their presence, but the technology of Shield was advanced enough to notice someone had hacked, even if they didn’t know who had hacked. Well… Coulson did, but it wasn’t like he was going to tell.   
  
“I saw it, Tony.” Bruce murmured softly, feeding further into Tony, as Steve looked up sharply from where he assessed the passing agents.   
  
Coulson had to admit, it couldn’t be better done. Thor and Tony would instantly catch everyone’s attention, pulling their eyes off of the real leader of the group. Bruce and Loki remained the two’s backup, watching their backs, even as Natasha and Clint guarded everyone’s back- but they were also ready to peel off on a single command and vanish among the corridors.   
  
Steve remained the leader, watchful and wary, the central command post to tell everyone what to do.  
  
“Come, my friend!” Thor boomed merrily, “Tell me more!”  
  
“Okay, so there he was, standing there with a two-year-old, cheap, tasteless wine and smiling as if it were the hundred and fifty year old that  _I_  was drinking when-“  
  
As Tony talked, they piled out into a big, open room where Coulson had told Fury he’d be bringing the rag-tag bunch of kids.   
  
His first thought was wondering if he’d messed up the room or timing, because there were people inside.   
  
His second thought was a brilliant, blinding burst to swear at the entire room.   
  
The teens parents sat quietly around the table, staring at their children.  
  
\-------------------  
  
Loki’s breath froze for a single pained second as he spotted his father. Odin. No,  _not_  his father. He was adopted, and this man was the one who had lied to him.  
  
His chin jerked up defiantly, even as his hand groped sideways, seeking out Thor’s. The big, strong hand caught his and held, and he nearly melted in relief at the silent reassurance that his brother was with him. Thor took a half-step closer, pushing Loki back.  
  
He slipped back almost willingly, before stopping, and elbowing his brother aside. He was seventeen, almost a legal adult, old enough not to cowed by his fake-father. Thor shot him a briefly surprised glance, that he ignored, willing his silver tongue that had helped out the team so often before to work it’s charm.   
  
“Odin.” Not father. That was not his right anymore.  
  
“Son.”   
  
Loki nearly flinched, nearly begged Thor to take over, let him hide until life was once again right and it was only the seven of them on the open roads planning their next mark, but his lips pursed, as he forged on ahead, “What are you doing here?”  
  
“I came here looking for my two wayward sons that had so foolishly run away.” Odin’s voice could fill an entire room, but Loki only now noticed with a spark of panic that it was only the three of them in the room- everyone else had disappeared.   
  
“I don’t think you have any right to-“  
  
“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, CHILD!” Odin roared, and Loki really couldn’t help his flinch back, he wasn’t strong enough to do this-  
  
Thor instantly stepped up to the plate, shielding him from his father’s wrath, “FATHER!” The two could yell at each other all day and never flinch. Barbarians.  
  
“DON’T YOU DARE, THOR! FOR YEARS FRIGGA HAS WEPT OVER YOU TWO, AND ONLY NOW DID I GET A CALL SAYING YOU ARE BOTH ALIVE AND WELL- BUT _THIEVES_!”  
  
That was Father all right, always speaking in tones designed to carry the furthest. Loki snarled from his place beside Thor, “No more a thief then you were!” Odin stopped, and time seemed to hold still, “Our lineage, handed down, from vikings- the pillagers and stealers of olden days. Our father, the greatest stealer of them all- you stole the royal blood from right out of-“  
  
“SILENCE!” Odin boomed, and Loki fell silent, hand still wrapped within Thor’s, desperately hurting for his teammates.   
  
Natasha would be able to help him spin his tales, not let him get sidetracked. Tony would help Thor run interference, keep Odin silent. Clint would add in his own cutting remarks that went right down to the bone, and Bruce and Steve would be silent support, their quiet belief in their teammates enough to buoy the rest.  
  
At least he had Thor.  
  
Thor squeezed his hand, and Loki dared to peek up at his face- Thor was scared. Scared of father?  
  
No…  
  
Loki squeezed back, pressing in against Thor’s side, staring at his father defiantly. It wasn’t just him, he had Thor at the very least, and they weren’t going to loose each other.   
  
Odin looked at them, his one eye grave and dark. “Ah, I see. We will have to separate the two of you.”  
  
Fear, dark, clawing, desperate, screamed through him. “No! You can’t! You can’t!”  
  
Odin was bigger and stronger then them, and he was crafty as well. “Thor.”  
  
Thor breathed in deep, and Loki felt fear and panic battle within. Thor had always wanted to go back- a quiet longing for home with the cold wind blowing, and reindeer bounded, where bears were plentiful and Thor could stand outside in a storm and be as wild as he wanted- someone else was always willing to join him. Thor was beloved of Odin- Loki was  _not_.  
  
“Brother.” Was that him speaking? So quiet and light, begging softly. He hadn’t called Thor that in a long, long time. Thor had been the one, but now- “Brother, please.”  
  
Thor wrapped an arm around him, “I will not leave my brother’s side until he decides to return. On his own time.”  
  
Odin sighed, almost sadly, “No, both of you will be returning home with me.”  
  
Before Loki and Thor could protest, darkness swam up, and Loki realized with a start that Clint and Natasha weren’t protecting their backs. Where were they?   
  
Where was everyone else?  
  
\------  


Bruce was quite comfortably numb right now, thank you very much. He was floating in that weird place between complete and utter fear, and the feeling of helplessness. He should be growing violent- he knew this was the point where he normally went violent, but it went ignored for now, as he stared dead-eyed at his father.

Just his father. His mother wasn’t there. Where was mom?

A shoulder bumped against his, but he didn’t twitch, didn’t turn to look- instead his eyes were completely focused on his father, sitting at the table.

His father stood up slowly. “Bruce, why don’t we take this out of the room?”

Bruce twitched, he wanted to stay close, wanted to keep his back where it would be protected- but he couldn’t expect someone else to fight his battles.

Silently he padded after the man, tenseness beginning to wind up his shoulders. They made it out of the room, to where the man turned around, and Bruce’s back went ramrod straight.

He was alone. His father was in front of him, and-

“Time to come home, son.”

Sharp, ragged nails dug into the flesh of his forearm, and Bruce couldn’t help the slight shiver that ran down his form, quiet and terrified.

He wanted to run back, but this was his fight- not anyone else’s. The rest would be fine without him, right?

Bruce silently followed the man, certain he was going to his doom.

\----------

Tony watched with wide eyes as Bruce followed his father docilely with wide eyes. He had never, ever seen Bruce look as… empty as that. Dead. Scared. He automatically attempted to follow, when a single arm thrust its way in front of him.

“Tony.”

His dad looked older now. Tony didn’t remember as many gray hairs, or as many lines around his eyes. “Tony.” Howard breathed, and Tony bristled.

“Hey, Howard.” It might’ve been a slap to the face.

“Tony, I don’t know why you ran away-“

Tony took a step back, then a step forward because he  _wasn’t_  scared of the man. “You know why. I told you, and you simply said I needed to grow a backbone. So I did.”

“And ran away to become a thief? Do you have any idea how much money I had to spend to keep your name out of the papers? To keep you from being recognized as a thief?” Howard steered them out of the room as he spoke, deftly enough that even Tony had to admit he was good at it, “I’ve been searching for you for years. I’ve researched all about your little friends- Screw-ups, insanity, murderers-“

“Shut up. You have no idea about them, they’ve been a far better family then you and Maria ever were. They accept me-“

“They’re using you is what. You’re a genius Tony, smart. You could be doing so much better then them. Time to come back home and accept your destiny as being heir to Stark Enterprises.”

Tony considered it for a brief second- what would he find there?

Someone intellectual? Nobody could compare to when he and Bruce worked on their latest scheme.

Someone to drink and eat with? Thor had the best taste of all of them, and could always be counted on finding the best food.

Someone to beguile and match wits with? Loki totally owned any in that category- he’d charmed hundreds and the one, made it look easy too.

Someone to  _talk_  too? Steve had that part down pat, always lending an ear, adorable in his confusion over modern things.

Someone scary? Natasha could kill them while naked and her hands tied behind her back any day.

Someone to joke with? Clint could take anything and make it a mean, nasty joke that only the seven of them could ever understand.

Nope, nothing anyone could offer could possibly replace that. “Yeah, right. Give up my-“  _family_  “-lovers and go back with you?”

He meant for the words to chase off Howard, he really did, but his own heart went a little cold and dark when Howard froze. Wrong words to choose, no matter how true they were. True, yet untrue, and he just wanted to run.

But Howard was suddenly right in front of him. “I think I made the right choice in separating you from them,” Howard murmured, and everything went black as the night when he had gotten separated and slept alone.

\--------

Natasha had taken one look at the man across from her and flashed back to murders in cold snow, blood painted walls, and dark corridors.

Clint had taken one look at her, and the two of them were instantly hunting the man across the table, who seemed to flicker and disappear, the two chasing down the image.

She heard the bow sing its deadly news, felt her guns pick out their counterpart to that news, sharp retorts that held on the air as they ran down the hallway, but then there was a flash from the right, and Clint disappeared, and Natasha was alone, but she had to keep fighting and kill that man before he could kill what was hers.

Her lips pursed as she paused, balanced on top of a chair, as light as a bird, eyes flickering to the side- There was the sound of Clint being hit, and she almost turned to go after him, but she forced herself to be still.

She wouldn’t catch that man if she ran around uselessly with her head chopped off like some sort of chicken.

Natasha took a deep breath, rolling her shoulders back. Then, she copied Bruce’s breathing pattern, taking long, slow, deep breaths, nearly silent and instantly relaxing as she waited.

There was the babble of voices, the low stomps of feet marching towards her, and there, faintly, she caught it. The low whine of a machine trying to run interference.

A pen that had once laid discarded upon the table flew through the air swiftly, slamming directly into the weak point of the machine Tony had taught her. The machine crackled, failed, and her prey was before her. “Ah.” Natasha said dryly.

It was her old leader, the one that had taught her. The one she used to call father. Steve was a far better father, and he was much handsomer to boot.

“Natasha-“ The old man said, surprised, but then he smiled, “I’m glad to see that your training has not been in vain.”

She ducked to the side, letting tranquilizers bury themselves uselessly in wood, drawing a short knife. “I’m going to kill you.”

The two of them smiled grimly at the other- they were not family.

Not anymore.

Clint appeared at her side, bow humming softly, “Ready ‘Tash?”

“Yes.”

They spun, each charging for the other target- the fight was just beginning, and they had no intention of loosing.

\---------

Steve looked helplessly around himself.

Bruce had disappeared. Tony had tried to go after him, but had gotten sidetracked. Thor and Loki were wrapped in their own little shouting match, and Clint and Natasha had gone after another guy with murderous intent.

There was just him, and Coulson.

_No. I can’t loose them. I can’t loose them, not my family. Not again._

Again? When had he-

Steve shook his head, focusing determinedly on Coulson for now, by picking the smaller, older man off his feet by the shirtfront and slamming him against the wall. “What. Did. You. Do!?”

“This wasn’t any of my doing, I swear Steve.” Coulson was calm- but he wasn’t lying. “I have an idea who did.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed- “Take me to them. Now.”

“This way.” Coulson pointed off to the left, and Steve sent an agonized look across his shoulder.

Thor and Loki stood side-by-side, and even though Odin was yelling at them, they didn’t flinch. “Stay strong everyone, I’m going to fix this. I promise.”

Steve turned away, and with determination began walking down the hallway. He didn’t know what lay at the end, but he was certain he wasn’t going to like it. Coulson, as if reading his mind, said softly, “Director Fury- he’s the one in charge of everything- has to know what’s going on.”

\--------

Fury wasn’t startled when the door burst in, or when the young teen with blond hair began to yell at him, bristling and angry. “Why would you-“

“The question isn’t why would I- but what are you going to do about it. Your team is scattered now. Tony Stark should have been taken home. As well as Bruce Banner, and Thor and Loki Odinson. Clint and Natasha are separated, hunting down a KGB boss, completely on their own. And you have no way of getting in contact with any of them.”

Steve’s mouth opened, and then abruptly shut. Sharp eyes, far too old for him bored into Fury for a brief moment.

Then, the director was reminded why exactly Steve was the leader. “We aren’t separated. Not yet. We have relay points, and lines of communication that we’ve never told a soul about. And so long as I know of a way to get us back together, I will take it, even if I have to break into Stark Industries and kidnap every single last person.”

Steve leaned forward, “And do you know how I’m going to bring them all back together Director? I’m going to unite them against a common enemy.”

The young man didn’t flinch, didn’t turn away as he simply pointed at the director that had so many secret weapons at his disposal. “You.”

“Me? Sorry kiddo, but I don’t think you can take on a organization like mine.”

“You weren’t listening.” Steve snapped back, “I said  _you_. Not the organization, but you personally. And while you may have the organizations tools at your disposal, nothing can last against us all the time.”

“And how do you plan on doing this, Steve?” Fury asked reasonably enough- it wasn’t like he felt threatened by the man, or his team. Despite the miraculous scams they had pulled off, they couldn’t hope to go against Shield.

“Stark Industries. A multibillion company, that has every last new science toy you can think of, developer of weapons. Odin Company, another billionaire company, developer of communications. Natasha and Clint will be taking down that KGB boss, which means his underlings fall into our hands. Bruce Banner- the Banners are famous for their radiation research. Nuclear bombs and such. All of that is going to be under my command very soon, Fury.”

A cold chill flowed down Fury’s spine. He had underestimated Steve. He had thought Steve was a good kid, and the moral center of the rest- and he wasn’t wrong. It was just that Steve, while a good person, in a way most people weren’t these days, had no problem at all with using every last resource to crush what he considered a threat to his family.

Fury was a threat to Steve’s family.

Steve stared hard at Fury for a few moments, before turning sharply on his heel and storming out. “Better get ready, because when we come after you, there won’t be anywhere to hide.”

The door slammed shut behind the blond man, and Fury sat still, running a hand over his head. “That didn’t go well.”

“No sir, it did not.” Coulson piped up from where he had been studiously silent, “If you had just  _asked_  me beforehand, I could have told you just how bad of an idea it was.”

“I had to put him through the last wringer Coulson, you knew that.”

“You don’t mean that you’re actually going to go through with this?” Coulson questioned gently, suddenly concerned. “The- Finding a successor shouldn’t mean you risk your life.”

“I need to know who will be ready to take over if I die, and this is the best way. The kids are serious, and that means I need to be serious as well. Shield can’t fall in the wrong hands, and I can keep a better eye on who is going to go rouge if everyone thinks I’m dead.”

Coulson hesitated for a few moments, “You do realize that if this happens, then I will probably be the new director, right?”

Fury snorted, “No, you’re not. I forbid you Coulson. I need you to be my one good eye. Like always.”

The man seemed to lean towards him, and for a brief, insane moment Fury wanted to do nothing more then reach out to touch him on the shoulder. Some kind of physical contact. “I still don’t think that this was right.”

“It’s a test for them as well Coulson. They haven’t been apart for more then three days since they’ve banded together- that kind of co-dependency isn’t good.” Fury turned away from his desk as he spoke, staring at the metal wall behind him.

He watched in the wall as Coulson’s face fell, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly,

“Maybe if you learned to cooperate with someone, then it wouldn’t have come to this. Maybe you could’ve retired and let Maria take the helm, and we- or you could be somewhere warm.” And Coulson sounded so wistful, that Fury started to turn around, but it was too late.  
  
The agent had disappeared, and Fury was left with nothing but questions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, guys, this is all I've got. I swear I've only spent like... 30 minutes posting this thing and its already had hits. What even is my life right now?  
> Anyway, I'm sorry to leave it at such a cliffhanger. I've been hanging by my fingertips for YEARS.  
> AND now i need to go kill the birds who have decided that chirping like demented flutes outside my window at 5am (no i haven't slept tonight. You're welcome.) is a good idea. G'night all and enjoy!!!

**Author's Note:**

> And fakeasian56, if you happen to stumble upon this amazing fic that you wrote so long ago, would you mind putting me out of my misery by writing the end you may or may not have planned? Because you are insanely talented and your vision is incredible.


End file.
